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Tuesday 26 April 2011

Battlestar Galactica. Finally.

Well, it's been another few fruitless, unproductive weeks for the Quest. I shouldn't complain though, because this time out it hasn't been my own laziness that has prevented me from doing anything so strenuous as getting out of bed for more than a couple of hours a day and picking up a television remote. No, work has eaten up my time; the hard graft of proving to an employer that I was a good fit (by doing the job unpaid for months at a time) and then settling in once I was actually employed, has pretty much left me shattered. What can I say, it's been a while, I'm not used to it. I've settled back into the groove now though, and should be back to regularly filling my head with nonsense at my old prodigious pace.

In the meantime, what scant morsels have I managed to take in? Well, to be honest, other than keeping up with stuff like The Event and The Walking Dead (now that it's on a channel I can actually watch) and of course the Season premiere of Doctor Who (because having my scrotum eaten by a swarm of Bolivian fruit flies, high on hexocryaponitonin, wouldn't stop me watching a new episode of that), I've watched one episode of Heroes (Art of Deception, I wasn't much fussed) and the first 2 and a bit seasons of Battlestar Galactica. That's it. Pitiful really.*


Still, at least what I have watched has been good (Heroes aside, naturally). I started watching Galactica because, quite frankly, I saw the day looming when I'd have another Stargate on my hands; that is, a franchise so prolific that you turn your back for five minutes and you've got a 90 episode backlog. I'd seen the mini-series and the first couple of seasons, a while back now, but then lost track. Now I look and see that there are 4 seasons, a couple of telemovies (Razor and The Plan), a one season spin-off (Caprica) and another spin-off (Blood and Chrome) on the way. Bloody Hell!

So I dug into the box-set. Because it had been so long I decided to start from scratch and I'm glad I did. It's got a lot of dingly dangly plot threads this show, hasn't it? First things first, I got nice and reacquainted with my requisite 'crush', in this case Callie.

The Best Lookin Woman On Galactica. Fact.
Then I got all warm and tingly (not like that) at the way old school uber-foot Richard Hatch managed to parlay a one episode sop to the fans into a major recurring role.Then I got annoyed at the utter pointlessness of the Black Market episode. Then I hit the point I'd got to before and started delving into new episodes.

Fucking Hell! Suicide bombings, Murder and Death Squads. That's just the good guys, and it's just in the first 3 episodes of the 3rd season. Baltar living with the Cylons was another nod to the past, although I doubt John Colicos ever got quite as close as James Callis did.

None Of These Are John Colicos


And Kat! Shit!

Unfortunately I'm now getting to that point which I suspected would happen when they first cast a female Starbuck, and rejoiced when we didn't get it in Season 1. Yes, the God awful 'sexual chemistry' between Starbuck and Apollo is being rammed down our throats. Who thought this was a good idea? Aside from the fact that Katee Sackhoff can't act at the best of times, she has zero chemistry with Jamie Bamber and the whole thing is just an awful, awful mis-step.

Truly Awful

Not to mention, it's utterly unimaginative. "Oh look, the two young leads who had a platonic friendship are teasing getting together. I've never seen that on every other show ever." I thought this creative team were better than that.

You See, Chemistry

Still, it's one storyline among many and it won't break the show. (I hope) With about a season and a half to go - they've just found the Eye of Jupiter - I should be due some major revelations soon, to propel the show into the home straight, not least regarding the Final Five, a plotline which I have managed to remain un-spoiled about and am on tenterhooks for, although one of them seems fairly obvious, given the way Xena reacted in the temple. We'll see though, I could be way off the mark.

Anyway, that's a decent load of waffle spouted, for someone who said they had nothing to say, so I'm out of here.

Oh, one last thing, the Doctor Who premiere was arsom and it wasn't too complicated at all if you paid attention, so there.

*Actually, that's quite a lot isn't it? That this is a pitiful effort by my standards probably says something about my life. Not to worry.

Wednesday 20 April 2011

Goodbye,Sarah Jane Smith

I haven't been online for a couple of days. I log on today and the first thing - the very first thing - I read is that Elisabeth Sladen is dead. Elisabeth Sladen.

I'm not gonna write a long winded attempt to eulogise her because others will be doing that and far better than I ever could. Besides, any attempt to explain the impact she had on me, or the depth of affection I had for her, and for her most famous character, would be doomed to cliche, and serve only to make me even more maudlin than I already am.

All I will say is, Elisabeth, you will be missed.